How Are We Supposed to Change?
by Hermione-G-Weasley
Summary: A twenty-two year old Ron and Hermione are forced to examine themselves. Will they be able to salvage their relationship when things seem to be crumbling around them?
1. Awake in the Night

Hey guys, this is a brand new story. I know it's pretty boring right now, but I'm just setting the story up right now. The R rating will come into play in later chapters, so be prepared for that. I had an inspiration for this story, but I've been writing Draco/Hermione for so long now, that it was really hard for me to get back into Ron/Hermione. Anyway, please reply and let me know if I should continue this!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Obviously.  
  
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Twenty-two year old Hermione Granger was awake behind her closed eyes. She hadn't been asleep at all, but she had pretended to fall asleep hours before. She had been doing that a lot lately.   
  
She felt a body shift beside her, and she chanced opening one eye to see her boyfriend roll closer to her and swing an arm around her waist in his sleep.  
  
A bitter thought entered her head as she realized that the only time he ever put an arm around her anymore was when he was unconscious. Well, that wasn't exactly true. They were still having amazing sex regularly, but that was different. That seemed to be all it was anymore.   
  
Sex. Not making love.  
  
Other than those moments, they were cold toward each other. It wasn't as if they fought all the time or anything, but she figured that fighting would be better than just not speaking. They barely spoke to each other at all; they didn't even see each other except in the few minutes before they went to bed at night. Yes, Hermione was sure that she could have dealt with the fighting because she had, after all, spent four years fighting with him nonstop when they were younger. And at least when they were screaming at each other they were communicating.  
  
Now... Now, it was as if they did nothing. They merely existed around each other and had a few nights of amazing sex during the week.   
  
So much had changed between them since they were bickering eleven year olds. Back then things had been simple. She'd get annoyed at his childishness, and his face would turn redder than his hair with anger. And then they would have all-out yelling wars. Over the stupidest stuff possible.  
  
Yes, she supposed that she and Ron were a lot smarter when they were children. At least then they were able to get their feelings out in the open.   
  
Because now when she got annoyed at his childishness, she simply bottled it inside of her and tried to ignore it.   
  
The two of them had fought for the first four years they had known each other. They had bickered and yelled and screamed. But they had also laughed and joked and had so much fun. In their fifth year of school, their feelings toward each other started to change, and they were forced into the realization that they were absolutely mad for each other. It had been so perfect back then. The first few years of their relationship had been bliss, and Hermione couldn't remember ever being happier.  
  
But when had that changed?  
  
She thought back and figured it had probably been two years ago when they had moved in with each other. For the first year after graduation, she had lived at home with her parents, and Ron had shared an apartment with their best friend Harry. But it had been so hard on them. They weren't used to not seeing each other every single day, and they both missed living together like they had been doing for seven years before that.  
  
So, after a year of living apart, they had found a cheap apartment in Muggle London and leased it. Together.  
  
Her parents were pretty liberal and didn't have too much of a problem with it. They told her that if she ever needed them, she could call on them and everything would be fine. Actually, they had taken her decision much better than she had expected.  
  
Ron's parents had been a different story.  
  
Well, not so much his dad, but his mom had gone crazy. She had called Hermione every name in the book and had told Ron that he was disgracing the entire family by moving in with "some slut he hadn't even proposed to." So, that's what Hermione was now- a slut that hadn't even been proposed to. Ron had, of course, defended Hermione, and he still did whenever Mrs. Weasley decided to go off on one of her tirades about how absolutely scandalous their living situation was. It had never become clear to Hermione why exactly it was she who was totally in the wrong, as Mrs. Weasley never seemed to attack Ron. But she had finally given up on winning Mrs. Weasley over and gotten over it. She honestly didn't care whether or not she was on Mrs. Weasley's "A-list" anymore because she was a grown woman and had to impress no one but herself.  
  
But Ron hadn't been able to just get over it quite so quickly. Being the youngest of six boys, he had always had some kind of a complex where he needed to outdo his brothers in something or, if nothing else, at least be as good as them. And there they all were. All of the other five married, three of them with children already. Even Ginny, his younger sister, seemed to be better than him, as she was engaged to one of her old classmates, Colin Creevey. They were going to be married in a few months, and Ginny was playing the good-girl by living at home with her parents until she was officially Mrs. Ginny Creevey. So, once again, Ron had been outshone by his siblings. Never as smart, never as athletic, never as funny, and now never as morally outstanding. He was very much the black sheep of the Weasley clan.  
  
And he wasn't dealing with it too greatly.  
  
Whenever the Weasleys had family get-togethers, they still always invited him. And Ron usually attended; he even begged Hermione to accompany him. Of course, Hermione would just as well dig her eyeballs out with her fingernails as sit across from Molly Weasley at the dinner table. So, Ron went alone, and Hermione knew that the dinner talk always turned into a, "Ron, dump the little whore and find someone worthy of you," talk. And she knew that it hurt Ron to be outcast like that, but he always put up with it.  
  
Even now, when things were anything but happy between them, he still put up with it. But when had they changed to anything but happy? And why?  
  
And why did they stay with each other if it was clear that the blissful thrill of being with each other had long ago disappeared?  
  
Hermione knew why. She was comfortable. She was used to Ron. And change was always hard.  
  
And she loved him.  
  
Yes, she still desperately loved him, despite the distance she felt from him. She had been best friends with him for eleven years, been dating him for nearly eight, and been intimate with him for over six.   
  
How was she supposed to just forget all that?  
  
She couldn't. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew she wasn't about to just forget.   
  
Once again, she felt Ron stirring beside her, so she clamped her eyes shut just as he sat straight up in the bed. She could feel him staring at her, as she did her best to fake unconsciousness. And then she felt his fingertips on her face, tracing her jaw-line as gently as possible before she felt his lips cover hers softly. And he whispered as quietly as he could, "I love you, Hermione," before lying back down and drawing her once again into his embrace.  
  
Hermione relaxed into his arms as she tried to admit the feeling she had at that moment to memory. It was the best feeling she'd had in months.  
  
And when she heard Ron's soft snore behind her, she cried.  
  
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"Agent Weasley reporting for duty." Ron laughed as he entered the small office he shared with his best friend and threw his jacket onto the coat rack in the corner.  
  
His best friend and partner, Harry Potter, looked up from the stack of papers on his desk and rolled his eyes. "Hey, Ron."   
  
Ron walked over to his own desk and looked down at the mass of papers piling high. "Holy shit," he breathed as he saw them. "Do they really expect me to go through all this?"  
  
Harry laughed. "I would think the answer would be yes. That is if you really expect them to give you a paycheck."  
  
Ron and Harry were both Aurors for the Ministry of Magic, but seeing as they were both fairly young and inexperienced, they weren't yet getting all the benefits that the older, more experienced Aurors were. They didn't even have their own offices yet. But they didn't mind that. They liked sharing an office and being partners.   
  
Ron rolled his eyes as he turned away from his desk and poured himself a cup of coffee. "So, how's your day been?" Ron had been on a call and hadn't entered the office until mid-afternoon.  
  
Harry took a sip of his own mug of coffee. "Mione came by a little while ago. I talked to her a few minutes, but other than that it's been really boring."  
  
Ron looked up at the mention of his girlfriend. "What was she doing?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. She said she needed to talk to you, but she'd just wait until you got home."  
  
"What did she want?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "I. Don't. Know." He sighed when he saw his best friend glare at him. "What's up with you guys anyway?"  
  
Ron took his turn to shrug before sitting down at his desk and taking a drink from his mug. "I don't know. It's just weird lately."  
  
Actually, it had been weird for awhile, but Ron wouldn't admit that.  
  
Harry knew that was his cue to prod further because he knew Ron wanted to talk but would never do so without seemingly being forced to. So, he said, "Well, what's weird?"  
  
"Can I ask you a question?" He didn't wait for permission. "If Lora is mad at you, what does she do?"  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows at his best friend. "She usually just tells me to leave her alone, and I go home." Lora Ramsey was Harry's Muggle girlfriend of a year and a half. She lived in Edinburgh, but they managed to see each other quite often.   
  
Ron sighed at this. "Well, that doesn't help me."  
  
"Ron, what's going on?"  
  
"I don't know!" Ron's voice was suddenly a bit louder due to his frustration. "It's like we have nothing but sex anymore."  
  
Harry automatically cringed at this. He would never, ever get used to hearing about Ron and Hermione's sex life. Never. But he was trying to be the good little best friend, so he hurried on. "What do you mean? Are you guys fighting?"  
  
Ron shook his head. "No, we're not even talking."  
  
"What did you do?"   
  
Ron glared at Harry for the second time that afternoon. "Why do you automatically assume it's something I did?"  
  
Harry laughed uneasily. "Sorry. I just figured... You know, it's always our fault when something goes wrong."  
  
Ron had to agree that he had been the one who accepted the blame for most of the arguments that he and Hermione had had since they'd been dating. But this was different. "I just don't know what's wrong. That's the problem."  
  
"Well, just talk to her. Find out what's going on," Harry said this as though it were the simplest thing in the world.   
  
Ron didn't bother to tell Harry that finding out what was going on was easier said than done. So, he just shrugged once more in a nonchalant manner and turned his attention back to the mass of work in front of him.  
  
He'd just wait until he got home and heard what Hermione wanted to talk about. 


	2. Do You Miss It?

A/N: Sorry I left you guys hanging for so long, but I've been trying to work out some of my other stories plus everything else I have to do for school and work and all that stuff. Thanks for the people who left feedback for the previous chapters! I'm REALLY excited about this story, so I'm glad that at least a few people seem to like it. It seems as though my most popular work is shameless Draco/Hermione smut (by a landslide), but Ron/Hermione is still my couple of choice. Please leave feedback if you read this and let me know what you think! Thanks!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing... I'm only a poor college student. Sad, isn't it?  
  
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Ron looked up at his apartment building. He could see the light on in his flat, and he knew that she was home. He had expected her to be, though. It had been awhile since he'd been home this early; for the past months, he had been slipping in later and later, doing anything to avoid the silence that always existed between the two of them.  
  
Sighing, he entered the building and rode the lift to the fifth floor. Before he knew it, he was slipping his key into the lock and entering the small apartment he had shared with Hermione for the past two years.  
  
He didn't see her immediately, but he could hear her in the kitchen. She was making dinner; she hadn't cooked in awhile. He threw his coat on the couch and walked toward the kitchen.  
  
Yes, she was cooking, and she looked up when he entered.  
  
"Hey," she said quietly, almost as though she were eager for his reply.  
  
His reply, though, was an equally quiet, "Hey."  
  
She frowned slightly and turned back to the Muggle stove where she was stirring something that was boiling in a large pot. "I'm making spaghetti," she told him after a moment's silence.  
  
He nodded weakly, though he knew she couldn't see him with her back turned to him, and muttered, "Good."  
  
He distinctly heard her sigh before she tried to keep up the "nothing's wrong" act by saying, "Will you stir for a minute? I need to go to the bathroom."  
  
He nodded again and walked to the stove where he reached for the spoon. Their hands brushed briefly, and they both noticed it, as they looked up at each other momentarily before she finally let go of the spoon and left the room hurriedly.  
  
Ron sighed again as he glanced into the pot on the other eye of the stove. The sauce was boiling, and it smelled great. He dipped the spoon into it quickly and withdrew it. Raising it to his mouth, he snuck a taste. "Mmm..."  
  
"Stop that!" came a bossy voice from the doorway.   
  
Ron turned around and grinned at a very stern looking Hermione who had her hands on her hips. She looked exactly like the twelve year old girl who had reprimanded him for copying his Transfiguration homework from Harry. Well, not exactly like that little girl. She was taller now and much more developed. Her large teeth were now non-existent, and her once bushy long hair had long since been chopped into a short bob and was now rather straight and sleek. But the look on her face was unmistakably that of the bossy little know-it-all he had fought with all those years ago.  
  
And for a moment, it was as though things were back to normal between them.  
  
"Excuse me, Miss Granger," he told her rather sarcastically, though quite teasingly. "I am terribly sorry."  
  
She rolled her eyes before marching toward him and grabbing the spoon away from him. "Oh, shut up."  
  
He looked at her for a minute before speaking. "Don't you ever miss it, Mione?"  
  
He hadn't called her Mione in months now. She looked up at him curiously. "Miss what?"  
  
"Us. You know, the little kid us."  
  
"What? You mean the annoyingness and the childishness and the stupidity and the rudeness and the..."  
  
"I hope you're talking about both of us," he told her suddenly, cutting her off. "Because if you're just referring to me, I have to tell you that I'm quite offended."  
  
She grinned and even laughed a little. "Actually, I was just referring to you."  
  
He feigned hurt before continuing. "Well, I miss it, too. You know, the know-it-all attitude and the bossiness and the sucking up and the..."  
  
She narrowed her eyes. "You may shut up at any moment."  
  
Ron laughed as he reached for her hair and tucked a stray piece behind her ear. She looked up at him suddenly, obviously taken aback by the sudden change. He stopped laughing and said, "I really do miss it, you know." His hand rested gently on the back of her head.  
  
Hermione was quite obviously caught off-guard by the sudden closeness. Quietly, she said, "Me too," before leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips. The kiss wasn't deepened, and it didn't last too long, but it was still incredibly nice. They stayed with their lips pressed gently against each other for a few moments before Hermione flattened her feet out of the tiptoe position and parted from him.  
  
A strange silence filled the room, and it was as though they were experiencing their very first kiss all over again. Ron smiled slightly as he remembered that first kiss and related it to the one they had just experienced. Actually, they were both very much alike. Both filled with innocence, nervousness, and uncertainty.  
  
Ron remembered that first kiss clearly. They had actually been at his house during the Christmas holiday of their fifth year; that had, of course, been long before his mother had accused Hermione of being the biggest slut of the wizarding world. Harry, who had also visited the Burrow that Christmas, was outside having a snowball fight with the twins and Ginny. Ron, of course, normally would have been accompanying them, but his mum had heard him yell some very strong words during a game of Exploding Snap with the twins and Harry- words he never would have uttered if he had known his mum was in hearing distance, of course. She had been furious and aimed a frying pan at his head; luckily, he had ducked away just in time to save himself from a major headache. Of course, he wasn't getting off that easily; his mum had told him that he wasn't allowed to leave the house that day until every inch of the kitchen had been cleaned. He wasn't allowed to use magic, either, because for one, magic was forbidden outside of school grounds until after graduation and for two, using magic would defeat the entire purpose of the punishment.  
  
So, he was forced to wash breakfast dishes while his best friend and his siblings got to play outside in the snow. As though none of them had ever yelled the same words he had! They had just been lucky enough to never get caught. Hermione, though, never had been one for snowball fights, so she had offered to stay in and help him after his mother left for London. He had accepted her help, of course, simply because it would get him out of the house quicker.   
  
But there was just something about a grinning Hermione covered in bubbles (dish bubbles then, other bubbles in later years) that could make her seem absolutely irresistible. And as they had turned the dishwashing into a mix of a soap fight and laughter, he had just kissed her.  
  
Quickly, softly, and innocently.  
  
And it had been perfect.  
  
Just like this kiss had been. The one simple kiss they had shared (for the second time in a kitchen) had once again changed everything for them.  
  
It was as though everything were back to normal between them. As though they hadn't spent the last months barely speaking to each other.   
  
After the moment of silence had passed, Hermione reached out slowly and took his hand into her much smaller one. "Can we talk?" she asked quietly.  
  
Ron looked down at her and nodded. He watched as she stared down at their intertwined hands before dropping his and turning to the stove where she switched the heat to low. Then she motioned for him to follow her into the small sitting room. He did, and soon enough they were entering their living room and sitting on the couch.  
  
Hermione, looking down at the place where Ron had tossed his coat when he entered the house, frowned and said, "You do realize that's what the hall closet is for, right?"  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. Yes, this was his Hermione. The same bossy little know-it-all he had grown to love. "Yes, Sweetheart," he said sarcastically.  
  
She laughed as she settled in closer to him, once again taking his hand into her own.   
  
"How was your day?" she asked, trying to start the conversation out with a bit of small talk.  
  
Ron just rolled his eyes again as he moved to adjust to her falling under his arm. "Do you know how much shit they had on my desk this morning? It was outrageous!"  
  
She giggled, a habit she had picked up from Lavender and Parvati in her later school years. "I saw it when I came in looking for you. Bet you had loads of fun with that, didn't you?"  
  
"Oh, yes," he said sarcastically. "Loads." After a moment, he said, "What were you doing in anyway? Harry told me you came by."  
  
"Oh," she stopped for a minute. "I just wanted to talk to you."  
  
He waited for an extension, but when he got none, he simply asked, "What about?"  
  
Hermione was quiet for a long moment. She seemed to be debating the best way to approach whatever subject it was that she needed to discuss. Finally, she said, "Well, there's something I needed to tell you."  
  
Once again, he waited for her to elaborate. When she didn't, he prodded on, "Well, what is it?"  
  
"Ron, I'm really worried about us." Her voice was quiet and reserved, and Ron was not surprised that she did not lift her head to look him in the eye. "I don't even understand where we are anymore. Do you know what I'm talking about?"  
  
He understood perfectly, but hearing her speak about it was a little unnerving. "Um... I think so. Yeah, I do," he admitted.  
  
She leaned up a bit to finally look at him. "Ron, I love you. But I'm scared because I don't know what's going on with us."  
  
"We're just having a little bump in our relationship, Hermione." He was trying to convince himself as badly as he was trying to convince her. "That's all, right?"  
  
She frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "That's our problem. We don't know if it's just a little bump because we've never been in any other relationships to compare this to."  
  
She was right. They had nothing else to compare it to because they were each other's first everything. They'd each had their first real kiss with the other. They'd been the first and only people that the other could call a boyfriend or girlfriend. They'd never told anyone but the other that they loved them. They'd lost their virginity to each other and never strayed to anyone else since then, either.   
  
Hermione continued on before Ron could voice any sort of an opinion on the matter. "You know things aren't the way they used to be." She looked up and squeezed his hand gently before saying quietly, "And I don't think I can deal with a relationship built on sex and nothing else."  
  
Ron felt a lump forming in his throat, and he began to seriously start dreading the rest of the conversation. "So, what are you saying, Hermione?" He was almost afraid to ask. "Are you breaking up with me?"  
  
Her eyes were slowly glassing over with liquid, and Ron could tell she was about to cry. He couldn't deal with anything when she cried. Instead of answering his question, she very sheepishly relayed other news to him. "Last night while you thought I was asleep, I felt you kiss me softly and then tell me that you loved me."   
  
He blushed a bit, though he didn't know why. He'd kissed her softly and told her he loved her a million times before, but that particular incident was different from the rest somehow.   
  
"Was it true?" she asked quietly. "Do you still love me?"  
  
He looked down into her cinnamon covered eyes and just stared at her for a moment. How could she ask him that? How could she ever doubt him? "Hermione, I've loved you since I was fifteen. Maybe even before then. How could you even ask me that?"  
  
Her eyes were welling with even deeper tears, and he willed them silently to banish themselves. "But do you still? I mean like you did when we were fifteen. Do you still love me that much?"  
  
He looked down at their intertwined fingers and for some reason noticed that she had changed her nail polish from pink to lavender in the past day. He studied the way their hands fit so perfectly into each other and said, "I love you a million times more."  
  
He saw her smile softly before the tears actually started flowing. She sat crying silently with tears rolling down her rosy cheeks and staring at him. "Ron, I want us to work. I really do," she exclaimed earnestly.  
  
Ron used the hand that was not holding hers to reach up and grasp her chin gently. "We can do it, Mione. We've done it for almost eight years, haven't we?"  
  
She nodded, her tears still flowing. "But I'm just scared that we're going to screw it up," she admitted softly.  
  
He shook his head adamantly and forced her to look into his eyes. "I won't let that happen. I promise. And I'm so sorry that you felt like you had to doubt my feelings for..."  
  
He was cut off as Hermione's lips suddenly covered his own. He could feel the liquid from her tears meshing into his own skin as their faces met. How many times had he kissed her in his lifetime? He had no idea, but he knew that no two kisses were ever the same. This kiss was full of unspoken promises between the two of them- promises to do everything in their power to salvage their relationship.  
  
She pulled away and looked into his eyes for a moment before throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder. "I love you so much," she managed in between her still flowing tears.  
  
He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and smoothed the back of her shirt down gently. "And I love you. More than you know."  
  
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So, they're happy..... for now! Yes, there is a reason this is classified under angst. Of course, I'm not letting them off that easily. Please reply and let me know what you think. Was it too sappy? 


	3. A New Morning

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks so much for your reviews on the last chapter!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Do you really need to ask if I own them? If you do, the answer is NO, I DO NOT. That honor belongs to J.K. Rowling who I absolutely am of no relation whatsoever to. She did reply to the letter I wrote to her, though, if that's any consolation.   
  
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The morning sun was shining through the window brightly, and Hermione could feel its warmth covering her body. She had been sleeping so peacefully that she almost didn't want to wake, but she really had no choice in the matter. Slowly, she opened her eyes and smiled. She hadn't woken up beside Ron in months, as he'd always been gone before she'd decided to wake. But there he was, lying with his body pressed closely against hers and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.   
  
It felt wonderful.  
  
The night before, he had made love to her in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time. It was slow and sensual and passionate. And perfect. She smiled fondly at the memories of the way he'd held her and caressed her body gently and whispered warm words of love into her ear the entire time.   
  
She'd been in Heaven.  
  
Things were finally good between them again. They had had a long talk and tried their best to sort everything out. Things weren't perfect, yet, and Hermione wasn't sure how long it would be before they were. But at least things were good. At least they were talking.  
  
Ron stirred beside her which caused him to tighten the grip he had on her waist a bit. Now in even closer proximity with him than she had been previously, she laid her cheek against his and proceeded to flutter her eyelashes, giving him the sweetest of butterfly kisses. The movement roused him slowly from his slumber, and his eyes slowly opened to peer at her.  
  
He immediately smiled sleepily. "Hey, you," he said groggily.  
  
She beamed back at him. Leaning in to press her lips softly against his, she whispered, "Morning."  
  
Ron reached up to gently lay a finger against her lips when they'd parted. "Had a bit of a lie-in, didn't we?"  
  
She nodded, grinning slightly. "We did."  
  
"It's nice," he let his finger trace the outside of her lips. "I like waking up like this."  
  
When his finger slid over the parting of her lips, she kissed it softly. "Me too."  
  
Ron just stared at her silently for a long moment until she finally questioned him about it. "What are you staring at?"  
  
A slight blush rose into his cheeks. "Oh. I was just remembering how beautiful your eyes look when you first wake up. They're darker when you're tired- almost the color of a good chocolate frog."  
  
She laughed. Leave it Ron to relate a true moment of romance to sweets. "And yours are almost the color of a salt-water Bertie Bott bean," she teased.  
  
Ron laughed and shook his head. "I was trying to be romantic, you know?"  
  
This only caused her to giggle more loudly. "I know. That's what's so funny. I'll take it as a compliment, though, because I know there's nothing more beautiful to you than a box of chocolate frogs."  
  
He grinned playfully at her. "Well, I can think of a couple of things more beautiful."  
  
"Oh, really?" She raised her eyebrows. "And what would those things be?"  
  
Ron bit his lip. "Well... There's the way you look when you get all bossy and teacherish. That's really beautiful..."  
  
She glared playfully at him but implored him to keep going.  
  
"And there's the way you look when you just get out of the shower, and the water's clinging to your face..." His eyes actually appeared to be glossing over with thoughts. "And the look you get on your face right before you let go while we're making love. That's the best one."  
  
It might have sounded like a crude sexual innuendo on any other occasion, but in their situation it was an absolutely lovely declaration of adoration.  
  
She swallowed and kissed his lips lightly. "I don't want to go to work today."  
  
He smiled gingerly at her. "I want to stay here with you all day. Just like this."  
  
Hermione nodded, a slight smile grazing her lips. "Yes, because this is perfect."  
  
He nodded, too, before kissing her again. "And you're perfect."  
  
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The two lovers didn't get to have as much of a lie-in as they'd hoped for. They'd been abruptly interrupted when the telephone had rung inopportunely. It had been Harry calling from his own flat to say that he needed Ron's assistance on a call he was about to go on. Ron silently cursed the fact that Harry and Hermione had been raised with all the Muggle luxuries and were not able to do without them after they left school. If they hadn't had a bloody telephone, he would have at least gotten a few more minutes with Hermione.  
  
But no.  
  
Duty called, and it was up to Ron to answer.  
  
He'd left Hermione with a kiss and a promise of more to come later before Disapparating to Harry's apartment across town. He'd been surprised when he got there to find Harry eating a bowl of cereal and staring at his television.  
  
"What happened to the call?" he asked rather irritably.  
  
Harry looked up and grinned. "Sorry 'bout that. But as soon as I'd called, it got cancelled."  
  
Ron glared at his best friend, angry at him for interrupting a terribly romantic morning. "And you couldn't have called and told me this?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Sit down. I wanted to talk to you anyway."  
  
Ron pondered telling Harry to sod off before leaving to return to Hermione. But he decided against it; as long as he was there, he might as well hear whatever it was that Harry found so urgent to tell him. So, he grabbed an empty bowl from the cabinet and sat down to pour himself a bowl of the cereal. "What is it?" he asked between mouthfuls of Raisin Bran.  
  
"Look, I was thinking about what you told me yesterday. You know, about how you and Mione were having some problems? Well, I think I figured out a way for you to find out what's going on."  
  
Ron was surprised that Harry had given his problems two thoughts after he'd left the office. He knew that Harry had spent the night with Lora, and he thought that he was safe in assuming that Harry really hadn't been in the mood to ponder Ron and Hermione's love problems. "Well, we figured it out last night actually."  
  
"Really?" Harry raised his eyebrows, obviously a bit shocked.  
  
"Yeah. And we were in the middle of sharing a wonderfully romantic morning when you had to bloody ring in and interrupt us."  
  
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like you were missing much of that wonderfully romantic stuff anyway. Didn't you say that you were still having a great physical relationship even before you sorted things out with her?"  
  
"Yeah, but that was just sex. There's a difference between sex and romance."  
  
Harry held up his hands. "Well, you can spare me the details, thanks."  
  
Ron nearly laughed. "Don't tell me you're still on with that stupid complex of yours."  
  
"It's not stupid," Harry said adamantly. "I just do not like to think of the two of you as having any sort of relations of that kind. It's not a pleasant thought for me."  
  
Ron just rolled his eyes. "You're one fucked up man; do you know that, Potter?"  
  
Harry smirked. "Well, thanks to me, you're one fuckless man; now aren't you, Weasley?"  
  
Ron glared daggers at his best friend. "You're right. I'm going home." He got up, but Harry held up a hand to stop him.   
  
"Wait. You never heard my solution."  
  
Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I don't need your solution. We worked it out; I already told you."  
  
"Well, what is it that you two sorted out anyway?"  
  
Ron sighed and sat back down. "It's complicated. I'm sure you don't want to know."  
  
"Try me." Harry set his chin into his hands and stared expectantly at the man across the table from him.  
  
"Well, we just sort of figured that we're just getting a little too used to each other. We were maybe getting bored, you know? But we're going to sort it out and make it work."  
  
"Bored?" Harry wrinkled his brow. "How do you mean?"  
  
Ron sighed for a second time. "Well, we've never been with anyone else. Ever. So, it's like the only things we know we've learned from each other. Do you get what I'm saying?"  
  
It was obvious that Harry didn't really understand completely, but he offered his advice anyway. "It seems like the only way to fix that would be to date someone else, doesn't it?"  
  
Ron looked a bit shocked. "We don't want to date anyone else. We love each other."  
  
Harry nodded. He knew that they loved each other; they'd been together for nearly eight years. Of course, they loved each other. But from the way things were sounding, Harry found himself wondering if they were still in love. He didn't voice his question, though.  
  
"Well, I guess you don't need my advice then." Harry looked back down at his cereal and engrossed himself in it.  
  
"I guess I don't, do I?" Ron got up to leave once again. "Now, if you don't mind, I happen to have a beautiful woman waiting for me across town."  
  
Harry snorted. "How utterly romantic of you. A beautiful woman, eh?"  
  
"She is beautiful," Ron said adamantly. "Don't you think so?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "She's attractive in a Hermione sort of way, I guess."  
  
Ron glared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"She's my best friend. I have never thought of her in the way you do. And anyway, even if I were to say, 'Yes, she's beautiful,' you would probably knock me out for looking at her in that way. Now wouldn't you?"  
  
Ron laughed. "Well, yeah, you're probably right."  
  
"Thank you." Harry nodded and moved his spoon to his mouth before saying, through a mouthful of cereal, "But, yeah, I guess she's cute."  
  
"Do me a favor and don't look at her in that way," Ron said on second though.  
  
Harry just rolled his eyes. "I thought you were going home."  
  
"What? Eager to get rid of me, now, are you?"  
  
"Well, Lora said she might drop by, and if she does, I need to be free to give her my full attention."  
  
Ron just shook his head. "Well, excuse me for interrupting you," he said sarcastically. "I'm sorry; I'm sure I'm mistaken, but I was positive it was you who called and demanded I get my arse over here."  
  
"Well, you can now take your arse back to the lovely and endearing Granger goddess at your apartment," said Harry matter-of-factly as he got up to dump his bowl into the sink.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes before Disapparating without another word to his best friend.  
  
Seconds later, he was back in his own bedroom. He glanced at the bed where he had left Hermione earlier but immediately realized she wasn't there. "Mione?" he called into the hallway.  
  
He then heard the shower running from the bathroom. A mischievous gleam in his eye, he quickly made his way to the bathroom and, whispering a quiet, "Alohomora," he undid the lock and opened the door. He was met with a room full of steam as he glanced at the shower. The curtain was drawn, and the shower was running loudly. Ron thought it safe to assume that Hermione had no idea he had entered the bathroom, but he was more than keen on the idea of surprising her. Quickly and eagerly, he slipped his clothes off and made his way to the shower where he knew a very naked Hermione was standing, dripping in tiny droplets of moisture.  
  
Without anymore thoughts of what was waiting for him behind the curtain, Ron quickly pulled it back and stepped inside. Yes, he had been correct in assuming that he would be met with a very naked Hermione, and, yes, there were hundreds of tiny droplets of water clinging to every inch of her body as the shower poured down behind her. She jumped when he first entered, her eyes wide with shock. She quickly got over her surprise, though, and grinned wickedly at him.  
  
"You scared me," she said, smiling.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that," Ron said, inching closer to her and pushing some of her wet hair away from her face.  
  
"What happened to the call?" she asked curiously.  
  
Ron just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Bloody Potter," he mumbled before he leaned in to kiss her softly.   
  
Hermione asked no more questions because that one kiss started what turned out to be an extremely long and hot shower.  
  
********************************  
Sorry this piece is a bit shorter, but I needed a transition chapter. PLEASE review and let me know what you think!!! 


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